1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to arrow rests for use with archery bows. More specifically, the present invention relates generally to drop-away arrow rests.
2. Description of the Related Art
An arrow rest is an apparatus that is attached to an archery bow for the purpose of holding and precisely locating an arrow during the shot by the archer. A typical arrow rest is generally composed of a main body and an arrangement of fingers or other implements used to cradle the arrow shaft and position it for the shot.
An increasingly popular type of arrow rest is commonly referred to as a “drop-away” arrow rest. A drop-away arrow rest provides the archer with an apparatus that precisely positions the arrow for the shot, but then quickly moves out of the path of the arrow at some point during the shot to allow clearance for the arrow fletching. A drop-away arrow rest is advantageous in that it eliminates any interference between the arrow rest and the flight of the arrow.
There are three basic types of drop-away rests. The first type is one that starts the shot cycle with the rest in the “down” position and is urged into the “up” position via a mechanism activated by the drawing of the bow by the archer. Upon firing the bow, the rest immediately begins to fall out of the way of the arrow path via spring tension. A second type of drop-away arrow rest is one that starts the shot cycle with the rest in the “down” position and is urged into the “up” position via spring tension by way of a mechanism activated by the drawing of the bow by the archer. Upon firing the bow, the rest stays in the “up” position during the shot and is forced out of the way of the arrow path via a mechanism attached to a moving portion of the bow. Both of these types of drop-away rests raise the arrow from a resting position (i.e., the down position) into a pre-launch condition (i.e., the up position). This raising of the arrow is detrimental in that the arrow has a tendency to come off the rest while in motion during the draw.
A third type of drop-away arrow rest is one that is “cocked” into the “up” position by the archer against spring tension. Upon drawing the bow, a mechanism engages the cocked rest and disengages it immediately upon firing thereby dropping the rest out of the path of the arrow. However, in order to use this particular arrow rest, the archer must “recock” the rest after each shot.
Although advances have been made in the field of drop-away arrow rests, improvements are still needed.